Today I want to share a powerful idea with you. It’s something you NEVER hear about. Yet I’m convinced that if you can apply this simple concept, your singing will both drastically improve and become a lot more fun for you, almost immediately.

And the idea this: in order to sing with true freedom, you must find a place to practice where absolutely nobody can see or hear you. In other words, you need solitude.

Your voice is a lot like your personality. In fact, the voice is called the instrument of the soul. It expresses your totality, whatsoever that may be. The modern tragedy is that our souls are confined, warped and trampled by society, ‘parenting’ and culture.

We were raised constantly being told to be quiet. You know the expression “a child must be seen, not heard”…

We’re conditioned from the very beginning of our lives to suppress rather than express. In fact, the word ‘suppress’ comes from the Latin word “supprimere” which means “to press down”.

And that’s exactly what’s been done to our souls, they’ve been pressed down since childhood by a sick society that doesn’t benefit in any way from your free, unhindered expression.

Interestingly, the word “express” comes from the Latin word “exprimere” which means “to squeeze out”. But expression isn’t really about forcing something out, it’s about removing the blocks that prevent a natural flowering of your spirit and consequently, of your voice.

So getting back to the idea of practicing in total solitude. I want you to observe yourself next time you sing. Be aware of your thoughts and feelings. You may be surprised how much your thoughts center on what the people in earshot might be thinking.

Also ask yourself whether you feel 100% free to sing as loudly as you want? To act completely crazy and be weird, and dance around and do whatever naturally comes to you, without self-censorship or judgment.

If you don’t have a space somewhere to be alone with yourself and practice your singing away from the ignorant, judgmental people all around you, your singing will always be suffocated.

You must find a place where you’re free to be absolutely loud, absolutely crazy, absolutely YOU. This is your center, and the only place authentic music can come from.

I know I’ve gone a little woo-woo on you here…but think about it. Where can you go to scream your brains out without somebody raising an eyebrow?

Now you may be reading this newsletter halfway across the world from where I live. But if it’s at all possible, I recommend you find a location like this ASAP and begin to go there once a week, even if you have to pay to do it. It’s that crucial.

It can be the concert hall of your local university. It could be the choir room of your local church when nobody’s around. It could be the woods behind your house. Anywhere. But for god’s sake find a place to just BE yourself and Express yourself because it’s almost impossible to do so around others.

I know what you’re thinking…Vic’s gone all new-age on me. Well, that’s true. This is a new day and age where people are constantly surrounded by people yet they’re all lonely. But in ALONENESS, you find your center.

I’m going to wrap up this newsletter with a fascinating fact…

Here in the West, anytime a person feels psychologically unhealthy, they go to a psychiatrist. They may go to that psychiatrist for YEARS with little to no progress. The psychiatrist listens to the patient, indulges them, and does nothing to actually cure them, but rather makes them aware of their illness.

But across the world in Japan, zen monks have discovered a completely different way to cure psychological sickness. They take the sick person and quarantine him out in a solitary cabin away from the monastery and the other monks. He has time to simply be alone with himself, to be silent (even if he’s yelling!)

Miraculously, or maybe not so miraculously, he is cured in a matter of weeks. No psychiatrists, no long commiseration. Just a return to the source of human health, freedom and expression.

I’ve gone a bit deep here and expressed my own conviction on this topic but you may have some ideas to add to this, and I’d love to hear them.

Ciao..

Vic

p.s. Join the many subscribers who have learned the fundamentals of operatic singing with my Sing Opera Now course. Check it out below:

2 responses to “Newsletter 8 – This Prevents You From Singing With Freedom”

Very well said Vic, not new-agey at all, actually a sign of wisdom coming from you there. I am almost sixty years old and have always loved to sing, very badly. With what I’ve seen so far I am now going to enjoy it much more, thank you.

This is the wisest singing advice I’ve read. Nothing – not great technique, breathing exercises, warm ups, etc. will ever make your voice sound better if your mind and soul are troubled. A free voice, and beautiful expression of our voice, is only possible if we find space to be free. If we’re always worried about what other people think, if you analyse yourself and your technique too much, you suffocate the joy of music inside you. Solitude and time spent in peace are crucial to feel free and relaxed. Very well done Vic!